Hello and welcome!
After some anticipation, Inktober 2022 is finally underway. If you’ve never heard of it, please be sure to check out my previous
post that briefly outlines the rules/basics.
We are less than a week into Inktober, and have already seen some interesting prompts (looking at you, ‘Scallop’). However, if you’re like me, it can take a little while to find your stride, so I’ve made a list of 5 helpful things you need to make your Inktober experience even better!
1. A Sketchbook:
This may sound simplistic, but hear me out: rather than using loose sheets of paper, a sketchbook is a great way to preserve your work and can also serve as an excellent progress-tracker. You can go as basic or as high-end as you want. For reference, I’m using a WHSmith-branded A5 sketchbook for this year’s challenge. It’s just the right size for me to complete my drawings in a short amount of time. It also holds up remarkably well when it comes to ink bleeding. On the flipside, I’ve previously used a Mol
eskine A4 sketchbook, which is more on the expensive side. It’s well worth the reputation in my opinion, but the slightly higher price tag made me feel more pressure to make each drawing as epic as possible (spoiler alert: I didn’t succeed!)
2. Ink Pens
For my first couple of Inktobers, I basically got by with ordinary ballpoint pens. They worked fine overall, but I found that they were lacking a certain finesse for fine lines or broader strokes. Once I started using artistic pens, it felt
like something clicked. There are a wealth of artist pens to choose from, but my two favourite brands are Faber Castell and Uniball. I love the variety of colours and ovaerall quality offered by Faber Castell. As for Uniball, I discovered them a little later, but bought a 5-pack of their assorted artist brushes (0.03mm to Brush size) and fell in love! I’m currently using my trusty Uniball set this year.
3. A Good Camera/Lighting
Even if you don’t plan to share your drawings to social media, I highly recommend taking photos. If you so choose, these could be a good starting point for portfolio creation, or just another way to keep records of your progress! Presentation is definitely key, so make sure to take your photos in a well-lit space, avoiding shadows/anything that would distract from your artwork.
4. Pinterest
As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, Inktober’s drawing prompts can be…thought-provoking, to say the least! It’s perfectly natural to find yourself stuck, but you don’t have to remain that way. Pinterest is an excellent tool for references to kickstart you out of art-block, especially when you’re given a very vague prompt. I know that there’s a little debate within the art community about using references, but if it’s good enough for the Old Masters, then I don’t have a problem with it!
5. A Pencil
Before you laugh, let’s not forget how helpful an underdrawing can be, especially when you’re drafting your final ideas. A good pencil is a very important part of bringing your piece from draft to inked masterpiece. They’re not all created equal, either. My go-to is a basic mechanical pencil, but you may find that a
6B is more suited to your style. I highly recommend experimenting with a few different types on a blank piece of paper to find the best one for you.
Thanks for stopping by--now go forth and conquer!